In the span of the past year or so, the Masland Library has upgraded the study areas in the building in order to provide the students of Cairn University with greater comfort for the long hours of reading, a quieter atmosphere for quality study sessions, and even more advanced technology options for those of us who forget our laptops, phone chargers, or earphones all the way down in Heritage Hall. Some of these additions are obvious and exciting – others are subtle, yet essential to the academic success and the mental sanity of the students of the university. The exciting additions are as follows:

BRAND NEW headphones, ones that fit most head sizes. These headphones are classy, comfortable and sound-cancelling (for the most part). Not only will you experience quality sound, but you also get a quality look as you jam out to your tunes. No more of those clunky, old, space antennas that we used to offer. (Unless you really liked the space antennas. We still have those.)

The downstairs computer lab has been magically transformed into a quiet study space for those of you that don’t want to be affected by the not-so-whispered conversations and the sound of books dropping in the main part of the library. Use this space for individual study – NOT for group study. (We have private study rooms available for groups to have space to discuss and work together. Check out keys for the study rooms at the front desk!*) Specialities of the quiet study space involve super big and comfy chairs, large work areas (a few of which resemble dining room tables), and inspirational pieces of art to stimulate your brain.

We now have CHROMEBOOKS available for check-out! These sleek little pieces of technology are a great tool for those days when you spill your coffee all over your MacBook, when you forgot your power cord in your dorm room, or when you just want to try out some new technology. The Chromebooks can be checked out for 2 hours at a time, but they have to stay in the library. Make sure you treat them as if they were your own, because if you don’t.. Well.. it might cost you something**.

Finally, the most exciting addition of all. The Masland Library has FINALLY – after years of tears, petitions, pleas, suggestion cards, threats, and stiff backs – added BEANBAGS to your library experience. These beanbags serve many purposes, of few of which I will name.

WHAT BEANBAGS ARE FOR

Sitting on

Taking that inevitable study break nap

Hanging out with your friends in comfort (quietly, of course***)

Writing papers and doing research while feeling like you’re enveloped in a cloud

Generally enjoying because they are soft and fluffy and big and lovely and infinitely better than the chairs

WHAT BEANBAGS NOT FOR

Throwing over the second floor balcony. Seriously. No. That’s how people die.

Canoodling. Shenanigans. You know what I mean. All those Cairn couples out there.. One person per beanbag, please. PDA to the minimum, please. For everyone else’s sake, please.. Leave room for Jesus.

Eating food. These beanbags are in pristine (kind of) condition and deserve to be treated with respect to keep them as beautiful and comfortable as they are now. Also, you’re not allowed to be eating food in the library anyways****, so.. Keep that in mind as you enjoy the fluff.

Building forts. Those suckers are pretty hefty, so keep them on the floor, okay*****? It’s better for everyone that way.

Take advantage of all of these upgrades******! They are here to make your life easier, happier, and less stressful. Happy Thursday!

* Seriously. We will ask you to relocate to a noise-friendly area of the library.

** Cost you something like the price of a Chromebook. Or your technology-using privileges.

*** Seriously. We will call security to escort you from the premises in handcuffs if you can’t keep your voices down. Well.. maybe not in handcuffs, but.. Be respectful, okay?

**** Nobody likes ants and rodents hanging out by the beanbags, right? Right. Keep the crumbs in the library. Seriously.

***** Seriously. Do your back and your tired limbs a favor and leave them on the floor.

****** Seriously!! We want you to be here and we have these resources for your enjoyment and convenience.

This semester I have had the privilege of interning at a drug and alcohol rehab center for women. It has been an experience that I would not trade for anything and also one I wish everyone could experience. Addiction Recovery is hard, it’s not pretty, and it makes people vulnerable. However, it also makes people search, makes them available and makes them open to new ways of life. You see, we all search for things to fill us, to make us happy, or cheer us up. People in recovery are the same, they looked for things just like I do, and you do, and the difference is that they landed on a substance and not a Netflix show. And the ONLY THING that separates me from them, you from them, is the grace of God alone. That could be me, should be me, and could be you.

But the beautiful thing is that I have never met people so open, so willing, and so desperate in need for something deeper. Never have I been able to see the need for Jesus more than I have this semester and never have I been around people so hungry for it.

Now I know what you’re thinking. How does this relate to the library? Well let me tell you.

I have read, borrowed and skimmed dozens of books in the Library about addiction. And let me tell you, there’s plenty.

But not just that.

The Library is simply where it starts. You find a book, you check it out, you read it, your take notes (maybe), and you return it. But it’s what you do after that, it’s how you act on the information you just read, it’s how you follow Jesus’ commands using that newfound information, it’s how you treat people.

So do yourself a favor, visit the Library (there’s plenty of topics to find), check out a book, read it, and then make use of it!

Summers are strange things, most frequently I am asked by my friends and family, what I do all day since the students are all gone, and why I still work full time. Most people believe that summers at an academic library are similar to a high school teacher’s hours (that they are off unless they are stuck teaching summer school). No, here at Masland Library, we begin on all the projects that were too noisy or disruptive to work on during classes. So what do I do?

I work on Web Content; while the student workers are out in the stacks doing inventory.

We create lists to review the inventory scans; while the student workers continue to work on inventory.

Now a second student worker is working on finding missing items while I create a LibGuide.

Then towards the middle of summer we realize…all of the items we have reclassed and cataloged have filled the shelves so that there is no more room. Now we have to begin selective shifting (there have been summers where the whole library has needed shifting).

So one student worker is shifting while another is doing inventory; another student is processing all of those reclass and new books.

Now someone is double-checking the new items; while more new items are being processed.

Now we have to shift another area while another student is STILL working on inventory.

Towards the end of summer we realize all the other small things that need to be accomplished before Weekend of Welcome; new signs for the shelves; that shelf over there has been switched with the one above it; Oh No! another whole series has come in for Biblical Reference and we need to shift everything again. What do you mean there are information literacy sessions being held Weekend of Welcome…now I need a PowerPoint. Goodness me the Reserves still haven’t been collected…we need to get them before the new students do. RA’s are back…eke that means that students will be here in a matter of days!

Student workers are madly cleaning up shelves and placing end cap labels on.

Reserves are being pulled and activated.

All tutorials are being reviewed and information literacy classes are being taught.

Summers are strange things. While there is definitely fewer people in the Library and fewer reference questions we are preparing to give students the best service, cleanest library, and best resources available so that they can utilize the resources we have for them.

Coffee is a great thing. It is also a powerful thing. So, to best use the marvelous gift that God has given us, let’s learn about when coffee is the most effective.

So, not to get too scientific, but your body produces this thing called cortisol. It is a stress hormone and is associated with your alertness levels. So, at the times that your cortisol levels are high, drinking coffee will have no added effect, because your alertness levels are at their peak. However, when your cortisol levels fall, coffee can serve as a much needed reinforcement.

Here are the times where the body’s cortisol levels are at their peak (meaning coffee will have no added effect):

Between 8-9 AM

Noon – 1PM

5:30 – 6:30 PM

There is also a time where coffee serves as the most effective and that is from 9:30 – 11:30AM.

Now, the Library will have coffee during finals week, and it will be when your cortisol levels are low, so be sure to come on out and enjoy the free coffee to help you find that motivation to finish the semester!

The other day, I was down in the stacks shelving some books (as I do most days) when I came across a book on the shelf. This was no ordinary book though! This book had a little slip of paper coming out of the top, just barely noticeable to the common person browsing the shelves. BUT! Having been trained in the skill of noticing things that are out of place, I noticed this little slip. Carefully, I pulled the book off the shelf. Making sure none of the other books got out of place as I did so. Once I got the book off the shelf, I slowly opened the book to reveal the slip so preciously placed between the pages. I cautiously removed the slip from the book and began to read the words so meticulously typed on the paper. I didn’t know it then, but the words I read would change my life forever. “Now I know why Solomon had 700 wives… He never met you!”

I returned to the front desk with this slip in hand. I decided it was too important to just toss aside into the trash can, so this little slip can currently be found framed between my phone and its case.

Hey, are you majoring in Music? Looking to broaden your musical horizons or
simply add a new track to your playlist? Then Cairn University’s Masland Library is the
place for you! Throughout the library’s first and second floors, you will discover an array
of wonderful books on many of the world’s greatest composers. Explore the stories
behind the lives of Chopin, Debussy, Mozart and Beethoven and how their genius came
to be.

Masland Library offers material on a vast number of genres, ranging from Choral
Music to Hip-Hop. Jazz, Folk, Chamber Music, Gospel and Rock n Roll can also be found. There’s even a selection of more obscure genres like Honky-Tonk and Shaker. If your focus is biblical studies, there are books on the history of Christian Music, Spirituals and Amish Hymns!

For anyone looking to play or research a musical instrument, there’s a multitude
of materials to choose from. Expand your knowledge of piano, woodwinds, strings and
percussion so you can “rock out” with friends or serenade someone special. There’s
even music from the Romantic and Baroque Periods, perfect for dancing the night
away. Masland Library is the ideal place for Music majors and non-music majors alike,
whether you desire to brush up on your theory skills or broaden your musical horizons.

And do not forget our online resources, we have some great databases like Alexander Street Press and Naxos Music Library! These sources will allow you to find sheet music and to listen online to a huge library of music.

So, do yourself a favor. Take a trip to our amazing library, and let the music begin !

As the body of Christ, it is natural to possess the desire to assist others. When visiting the library, the best assistance you can give us is to not re-shelf books. We appreciate that you re-shelf books in an attempt to help us out, but leaving that job to your fellow student workers will help us out even more.

Records are kept within library systems for the usage of books. These records let the library staff know how often books are used and which ones are most essential to the student body. Therefore, all books you use – whether you check them out or use them in the library only – need to be recorded in the system. To help us do this, please leave books on the tables, on the carts throughout the library, or bring them to the front desk and stick them in the book-drop slot.

In a library, all books are categorized and have certain “homes” within the stacks. Letting library workers re-shelf books helps to ensure that all books are in the appropriate home. If books are not in their home, they become difficult to find and are then deemed “missing.” Those poor books I bet they really miss their neighborhood friends they’re used to being around. You can help them stay happy by dropping them off on the tables, carts, or at the front desk to be returned to their home by the library workers.

Fun fact: Student workers get paid to clean up your books and re-shelf them. That’s right. With real money – not Monopoly money. By allowing us to re-shelf your books, you help us work for our money. Plus, why go through the madness of trying to re-shelf books when you don’t have to. Let us help you, by leaving the shelving to us.

**Disclaimer: If you are walking through the library and notice books within the stacks that have colored slips in them, please leave the slip in the book. Student workers who are in shelving training put those in so that the library staff can double-check them, so that they are indeed in the correct spot. This process, along with the ones mentioned above, helps ensure that when you embark on the great book-finding journey, the perfect will book will be right there waiting for you.

That is what humanity has been so obsessed with for all of time. Whether it was oral tradition passed down generation to generation or some of the first ones written down like Gilgamesh, humanity has been so fascinated by stories. Think about even the boring epics you have to read in class, when you hear the condensed version suddenly a whole world in brought to life and it’s suddenly interesting. Even now one of the biggest industries in the world, Hollywood, does nothing but tell a tale that sucks us in and has us talking for weeks. Think about most of your conversations with friends, what are they? Often times we are telling each other stories about our experiences or even the experiences of others.

Tolkien picked up on this in his book the Twin Towers: “Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We’re in one, of course, but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards.” Stories stick in our heads. I think this is why Jesus told stories. When we think about the words of Jesus it is so easy to bring back the prodigal son or the story of the seeds that grew and the ones that did not. Even the Bible as a whole tells us a story. When we share the gospel in essence what we are doing is telling people the greatest story ever. It’s amazing. The library is full of great biographies of people’s life stories. The amazing things they have done. Or even fiction novels that are some of the greatest stories ever written. So I challenge you, find a story. Write one, read one, or maybe for the first time discover your own. If Lit and Arts has taught me anything it’s long after we are gone the stories will live on.

Well friends, you have a great resource at your fingertips. Unfortunately there are those who have no desire to use it or have no idea how to use it. Your Cairn University Library has the ability to increase the value of your education, to which you give so much of your time, effort, energy, and money. I am saddened to meet people on campus who have never checked out a book, spent any amount of time studying in the library, or even have no idea that the school gives you free prints to use in the library printers. I have met graduating seniors who have never even set foot in the library. This scares me. So, in light of this catastrophe, I am making a “did you know” list for our beloved “bibliotheque . ”

1. Your prints.

Oh yes, Cairn student, you are given free prints to use during the semester. This seems
obvious, but there are some people out there that have no clue. So maybe you knew you had
prints, but maybe you didn’t know the copier upstairs is the only place you can print with color?

Sure maybe you knew that too, but I’ll bet you didn’t know that you can print your paper and
have the PRINTER STAPLE YOUR WORK FOR YOU. Yes. With a simple click of a button on
the print menu, the Multifunction printers (MFP) (aka the big copiers downstairs and upstairs)will staple things for you right in the machine. Easypeasy.

2. There are records, and a record player.

This is for all you hipsters out there. Let’s say you were down at Sunday Breakfast or some
other local thrift store and you saw a killer vinyl for just a couple bucks. You have a phonograph at home, but home is oh so far away. Problem solved!

3. During finals week, there is free coffee.

That’s right. Your heard me. Free coffee. ‘Nuff said.

4. Rare book archives.

This one is actually pretty cool, and it’s what I do every day, so ask about it! We have a large
collection of rare books, some even dating back to 1700. Let’s say you’re working on a project and trying to come up with a unique angle to impress your prof. You can find sources from the 1800’s and see what the theologians of that time thought and compare it to what you’re learning in your classes today. The possibilities are endless. These sources must stay in the library, but you can come during office hours (84:30) and get special permission from a full time librarian to use a certain book. You can find titles by searching on the website just like any other book.

5. There are study rooms.

If you have a group project, or maybe need to find an even quieter place than the library, these rooms are spacious and allow you to spread your homework out in a private space.

6. Free books and book sale.

I meet lots of people who don’t know that the library has a book sale. If you go through the
lobby, down the stairs, and to the right, there’s a table with some hidden treasures at great
prices. And there is usually a cart of free books hanging around the front doors of the library for anybody to take advantage of.

7. RESERVE BOOKS

Or maybe your professor didn’t tell you. For a good number of classes here at Cairn, the
professor will put the required textbooks/books on reserve at the library. So instead of spending all those extra bucks, check with the front desk! You can check out reserve books at the front desk and have them for 2 hours. You can simply read, or scan what you need at a copier, send it to yourself, and be ready to go.

8. Movies.

The library also has a collection of movies behind the front desk, and it is a decent selection. Check it out!

9. Online Renewal.

I think this one is most surprising to people. You can simply go to “your account” on the library home page, and renew any books you have, unless you’ve renewed too many times. Just a heads up…

10. Databases.

The library has amazing collection of eBooks, as well as DATABASES. These resources are an incredible asset to writing any paper ever. There is an extensive list that allows you to choose a database that specifically fits the subject of your paper, and then you can do a detailed search. The best part is that these resources are accessible from anywhere. So check them out.

Footnote: Ask your librarians anything. If you have any questions, we love to help if we can, and find out if we don’t know. We also like it when people acknowledge our existence and talk to us,even if it’s a smile. So embrace your library. Learn the ways of the books.

Caitlin Williams

PS: The library has social media. Look them up. Trust me. There are gift card giveaways,
events, competitions with lucrative rewards… Do it.